Tropical Paradise // Costa Rica

Stepping out of the plane in San Jose, a gust of warm air hits us straight in the face. Why was the heater on? Oh just kidding. THAT'S JUST THE WEATHER.

Despite my winter attire (would not recommend wearing a long sleeve henley and soccer sweatpants in Costa Rica mid-afternoon, let alone at ANY time), I was filled with unbridled excitement. I have only heard great things about this beautiful country, and the fact that we would be surrounded by nature all of the time...dude I was stoked.

-- Day 1 --
December 23, 2015

The first thing we did was pick up our rental car, a practical silver Nissan Versa, and we were off! Our hotel, Hotel La Mariposa (translated: The Butterfly Hotel), was located in Manuel Antonio, which is 2 hour drive from San Jose. We didn't mind the drive, other than the fact that we didn't have a GPS and had to rely solely on a map and our friend's car in front of us, because the scenery was just beautiful.

We made a pit stop at the Tárcoles river, where you can actually see live crocodiles under the bridge. Not my idea of a fun time, but still cool. Plus- check out that view!!

2:18 pm - Touchdown at Hotel La Mariposa! Our room had the most AMAZING view. I literally still can't believe that that was the view we had for five days.

We got settled in for a bit, and then headed out to a local restaurant for some grub before out Jungle Night Walk tour. yeah you heard me. yeah I was scared out of my mind. Walking in the jungle, in pitch black, with only a tiny flashlight to help me see? BYE.

wtf, amazing right?! This was the view from our lunch spot: Emilio's Cafe

With that, I leave you with a picture of the sunset that night. We went on the tour later on, but since it was pitch black, I don't exactly have any pictures to show!

-- Day 2 --
December 24, 2015

6:07 a.m. - There's no better feeling in the world than waking up in Costa Rica, looking out of your window, and seeing the sun rise.

The reason for our early wake-up call was not only so we could get the most out of our day, but because we were going zip lining!! The hotel had free breakfast and dude...I think gallo pinto is my new favorite dish. We chowed down and then headed out with El Santuario Canopy Adventures to go zip lining. 

I was able to hold a conversation with the guy who was helping me put my gear on, so shout out to all of my Spanish teachers!!! 

Zip lining is quite possibly one of the most incredible adventure sports ever. It was so much fun and I highly recommend everyone to try it out. El Santuario Canopy Adventures was an amazing tour as well, and we had a delicious home cooked meal afterwards. It was only around 11 am by the time we finished, so we also went to Playa Espadilla as well!

We lounged around this lazy beach town for two-three hours, making sand castles, soaking in the sun, cooling off in the water, and talking about how bad our tan lines were going to be. 

With that, Day 2 is complete! Off I go, leaving you with this incredible picture of the sunset. Honestly, I can't stop staring at it. I view sunsets as gifts that the universe gives us every single day. Don't forget to appreciate them. But seriously...how is this real???